1. Whose side are we on?

Unlike an agent with Desjardins, Co-operators, or Belair who are employees of their insurance company and obligated to represent the best interests of their employers, your broker is employed by you.  The brokers’ professional governance ensures that they advocate for the best interests of their clients above all others, even themselves.

2. Conflict of interest?

Your insurance broker services are paid by the insurance company as a percentage of premiums (commission) on your policy.  It is natural to wonder if this presents a conflict of interest.  After all, the more you pay, the more we earn.

Not so fast!  If we, your insurance broker, are to win your trust and confidence then we need to be trustworthy and competent.  There is a lot of competition so we know we need to bring you the best value.

Keeping our clients for the long term and having them recommend us to their friends and family is the key to our success.

3. Does the broker help you with your claim?

There are thousands of insurance claims submitted to insurance companies every year in Canada.  It would be nice to think that the insurance company steps up and does the best job of settling the claim in every circumstance.  It would be nice to believe there are no ‘grey areas’ or coverage wordings open to interpretation.

Nice but not always the case!

It is hard to have a compelling argument with the insurance company if you are not very familiar with the coverage wording or the underwriting intent.  Your broker has put in a lot of time and energy drilling into the details of the coverage wordings for all the insurance companies they work with.  Our brokers will debate with adjusters and underwriters, or escalate a disputed claim to a higher level of authority.  It happens more than you would imagine.  And guess what?  We win those debates a lot!

If you place your insurance directly with the insurance company, do you think you could win those debates by yourself?

4. How much do you really want to know about insurance?

You have an accountant because you don’t want to be an accountant; you have a lawyer because you don’t want to be a lawyer.  There’s a lot more to insurance than you might know.  Don’t force yourself to be a broker; have a broker.

5. If you have a claim, do you become uninsurable?

Bad things happen to good people.  We all know that and, in truth, that is one of the big reasons we need insurance.  In the world of predictive analysis, insurance companies believe that one accident is a strong indicator of the likelihood of another and that is why they are less keen to insure people who have had claims.

Some insurance companies maintain competitive pricing simply by severely restricting access to potential clients who have a ‘profile’ that would indicate a slightly higher chance of having a claim.

What if you do have a run of bad luck?  Direct writers could very well cut you loose. They have no alternatives to offer you, because they are not working for you.

An insurance broker can access many different insurance companies on your behalf, each with a different “secret sauce” with respect to their ideal client.  If one insurance company is very strict, another could offer more leeway.   You are not abandoned when you are down.  We offer you options!

If you place your insurance directly with an insurance company and something happens and you no longer fit their customer ‘profile’, believe us, they will cut you loose!

6. Do you have any clout with your insurance company?

You’re a loyal customer and you pay thousands of dollars a year in premium.  You would think that you are pretty important to them, right?  You definitely are important to us.  We know how hard it is to win the confidence of a new customer and a loyal, long-time, satisfied customer is the best advertisement we could ever have!

We do know, however, that money talks and when it comes to insurance companies we find that they are more concerned about our opinions of their service standards. since we have several million dollars worth of business placed with them.  It’s logical – we are a big customer, and that is someone they don’t want to upset.

That is the weight we can put behind each and every client we represent.

7. Are you getting the best bang for your insurance buck?

Since we work for you and have your best interest at heart, we regularly compare rates, particularly when we notice circumstances change.   You can also request a quote at any time. We keep close tabs on price and coverage for over 12 of the major insurers in Ontario to ensure that you are getting the best value.  That’s what we are here for!